Sheet metal
Sheet metal is available in at pieces or coiled strips. The
Sheets of Nirosta stainless steel cover the Chrysler Building
Microscopic close-up of mild steel sheet metal.
Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into
thin, at pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used
in metalworking and it can be cut and bent into a vari-
ety of shapes. Countless everyday objects are fabricated
from sheet metal. Thicknesses can vary signicantly; ex-
tremely thin thicknesses are considered foil or leaf, and
pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate.
1
coils are formed by running a continuous sheet of metal
through a roll slitter.
In most of the world, sheet metal thickness is consistently
specied in millimeters. In the US, the thickness of sheet
metal is commonly specied by a traditional, non-linear
measure known as its gauge. The larger the gauge num-
ber, the thinner the metal. Commonly used steel sheet
metal ranges from 30 gauge to about 7 gauge. Gauge dif-
fers between ferrous (iron based) metals and nonferrous
metals such as aluminum or copper; copper thickness,
for example is measured in ounces, which represents the
weight of copper contained in an area of one square foot.
There are many dierent metals that can be made into
sheet metal, such as aluminium, brass, copper, steel, tin,
nickel and titanium. For decorative uses, important sheet
metals include silver, gold, and platinum (platinum sheet
metal is also utilized as a catalyst.)
Sheet metal is used in automobile and truck (lorry) bod-
ies, airplane fuselages and wings, medical tables, roofs
for buildings (architecture) and many other applications.
Sheet metal of iron and other materials with high mag-
netic permeability, also known as laminated steel cores,
has applications in transformers and electric machines.
Historically, an important use of sheet metal was in plate
armor worn by cavalry, and sheet metal continues to have
many decorative uses, including in horse tack. Sheet
metal workers are also known as tin bashers (or tin
knockers), a name derived from the hammering of panel
seams when installing tin roofs.[1][2]
1 Materials
1.1 Stainless steel
Grade 304 is the most common of the three grades.
It oers good corrosion resistance while maintaining
formability and weldability. Available nishes are #2B,
#3, and #4. Grade 303 is not available in sheet form.[3]
Grade 316 possesses more corrosion resistance and
strength at elevated temperatures than 304. It is com-
monly used for pumps, valves, chemical equipment, and
marine applications. Available nishes are #2B, #3, and
#4.[3]
Grade 410 is a heat treatable stainless steel, but it has
a lower corrosion resistance than the other grades. It is
2 3 FORMING PROCESSES

commonly used in cutlery. The only available nish is ufacturing practices and commercial standards and are
dull.[3] not representative of the Manufacturers Standard Gauge,
Grade 430 is popular grade, low cost alternative to series which has no inherent tolerances.
300s grades. Used when high corrosion resistance is not a
primary criteria. Common grade for appliance products,
often with a brushed nish. 3 Forming processes

1.2 Aluminium 3.1 Bending

Aluminum is also a popular metal used in sheet metal Main article: Bending
due to its exibility, wide range of options, cost eec-
tiveness, and other properties.[4] The four most common The equation for estimating the maximum bending force
aluminium grades available as sheet metal are 1100-H14, is,
3003-H14, 5052-H32, and 6061-T6.[3][5] Lt2
FM ax = k TW ,
Grade 1100-H14 is commercially pure aluminium, highly
chemical and weather resistant. It is ductile enough for where k is a factor taking into account several parameters
deep drawing and weldable, but has low strength. It is including friction. T is the ultimate tensile strength of the
commonly used in chemical processing equipment, light metal. L and t are the length and thickness of the sheet
reectors, and jewelry.[3] metal, respectively. The variable W is the open width of
a V-die or wiping die.
Grade 3003-H14 is stronger than 1100, while maintain-
ing the same formability and low cost. It is corrosion
resistant and weldable. It is often used in stampings, 3.2 Curling
spun and drawn parts, mail boxes, cabinets, tanks, and
fan blades.[3] Main article: Curling
Grade 5052-H32 is much stronger than 3003 while still
maintaining good formability. It maintains high corrosion
resistance and weldability. Common applications include
electronic chassis, tanks, and pressure vessels.[3] 3.3 Decambering
Grade 6061-T6 is a common heat-treated structural alu-
minium alloy. It is weldable, corrosion resistant, and Main article: Decambering
stronger than 5052, but not as formable. It loses some
of its strength when welded.[3] It is used in modern air-
craft structures.[6]
3.4 Deep drawing

2 Gauge Main article: Deep drawing

Drawing is a forming process in which the metal is
Use of gauge numbers to designate sheet metal thickness
is discouraged by numerous international standards or-
ganizations. For example, ASTM states in specication
ASTM A480-10a: The use of gauge number is discour-
aged as being an archaic term of limited usefulness not
having general agreement on meaning. [7]
Manufacturers Standard Gauge for Sheet Steel is based
on an average weight of 41.82 lb (18.96 kg) per square
foot per inch thick.[8] Gauge is dened dierently for fer-
rous (iron-based) and non-ferrous metals (e.g. aluminium
and brass).

2.1 Tolerances Example of deep drawn part

During the rolling process the rollers bow slightly, which stretched over a form or die.[14] In deep drawing the depth
results in the sheets being thinner on the edges.[3] The tol- of the part being made is more than half its diameter.
erances in the table and attachments reect current man- Deep drawing is used for making automotive fuel tanks,
3.9 Ironing 3

kitchen sinks, two-piece aluminum cans, etc. Deep draw- 3.9 Ironing
ing is generally done in multiple steps called draw reduc-
tions. The greater the depth the more reductions are re- Main article: Ironing
quired. Deep drawing may also be accomplished with
fewer reductions by heating the workpiece, for example
in sink manufacture.
3.10 Laser cutting
In many cases, material is rolled at the mill in both direc-
tions to aid in deep drawing. This leads to a more uniform Main article: Laser cutting
grain structure which limits tearing and is referred to as
draw quality material.
Sheet metal can be cut in various ways, from hand tools
called tin snips up to very large powered shears. With the
3.5 Expanding advances in technology, sheet metal cutting has turned to
computers for precise cutting. Many sheet metal cutting
Main article: Expanded sheet metal operations are based on computer numerically controlled
(CNC) laser cutting or multi-tool CNC punch press.
Expanding is a process of cutting or stamping slits CNC laser involves moving a lens assembly carrying a
in alternating pattern much like the stretcher bond beam of laser light over the surface of the metal. Oxygen,
in brickwork and then stretching the sheet open in nitrogen or air is fed through the same nozzle from which
accordion-like fashion. It is used in applications where the laser beam exits. The metal is heated and burnt by
air and water ow are desired as well as when light weight the laser beam, cutting the metal sheet. The quality of the
is desired at cost of a solid at surface. A similar process edge can be mirror smooth and a precision of around 0.1
is used in other materials such as paper to create a low mm (0.0039 in) can be obtained. Cutting speeds on thin
cost packing paper with better supportive properties than 1.2 mm (0.047 in) sheet can be as high as 25 m (82 ft) per
at paper alone. minute. Most laser cutting systems use a CO2 based laser
source with a wavelength of around 10 m; some more
recent systems use a YAG based laser with a wavelength
3.6 Hemming and seaming of around 1 m.

Main article: Hemming and seaming

Main article: Automotive Hemming 3.11 Photochemical machining
Main article: Photochemical machining
Hemming is a process of folding the edge of sheet metal
onto itself to reinforce that edge.
Photochemical machining, also known as photo etching,
Seaming is a process of folding two sheets of metal to is a tightly controlled corrosion process which is used to
together to form a joint. produce complex metal parts from sheet metal with very
ne detail. The photo etching process involves photo sen-
sitive polymer being applied to a raw metal sheet. Using
3.7 Hydroforming CAD designed photo-tools as stencils, the metal is ex-
posed to UV light to leave a design pattern, which is de-
Main article: Hydroforming veloped and etched from the metal sheet.

Hydroforming is a process that is analogous to deep draw-

ing, in that the part is formed by stretching the blank over
a stationary die. The force required to do so is generated
by the direct application of extremely high hydrostatic
pressure to the workpiece or to a bladder that is in con-
tact with the workpiece, rather than by the movable part
of a die in a mechanical or hydraulic press. Unlike deep
drawing, hydroforming usually does not involve draw
reductionsthe piece is formed in a single step.
3.12 Perforating
Main article: Perforating
Perforating is a cutting process that punches multiple
small holes close together in a at workpiece. Perforated
sheet metal is used to make a wide variety of surface cut-
ting tools, such as the surform.

3.8 Incremental sheet forming 3.13 Press brake forming

Main article: Incremental sheet forming This is a form of bending used to produce long, thin sheet
metal parts. The machine that bends the metal is called
4 3 FORMING PROCESSES

shape. The punch is sized to be a very close t in the

die. The press pushes the punch against and into the die
with enough force to cut a hole in the stock. In some cases
the punch and die nest together to create a depression
in the stock. In progressive stamping a coil of stock is
fed into a long die/punch set with many stages. Multiple
simple shaped holes may be produced in one stage, but
complex holes are created in multiple stages. In the nal
stage, the part is punched free from the web.
A typical CNC turret punch has a choice of up to 60 tools
in a turret that can be rotated to bring any tool to the
punching position. A simple shape (e.g. a square, circle,
or hexagon) is cut directly from the sheet. A complex
Forming metal on a pressbrake shape can be cut out by making many square or rounded
cuts around the perimeter. A punch is less exible than a
laser for cutting compound shapes, but faster for repeti-
a press brake. The lower part of the press contains a tive shapes (for example, the grille of an air-conditioning
V-shaped groove called the die. The upper part of the unit). A CNC punch can achieve 600 strokes per minute.
press contains a punch that presses the sheet metal down
into the v-shaped die, causing it to bend.[15] There are A typical component (such as the side of a computer case)
several techniques used, but the most common modern can be cut to high precision from a blank sheet in under
method is air bending. Here, the die has a sharper an- 15 seconds by either a press or a laser CNC machine..
gle than the required bend (typically 85 degrees for a 90
degree bend) and the upper tool is precisely controlled
in its stroke to push the metal down the required amount
3.15 Roll forming
to bend it through 90 degrees. Typically, a general pur-
pose machine has an available bending force of around
Main article: Roll forming
25 tonnes per metre of length. The opening width of
the lower die is typically 8 to 10 times the thickness of
the metal to be bent (for example, 5 mm material could A continuous bending operation for producing open pro-
be bent in a 40 mm die). The inner radius of the bend les or welded tubes with long lengths or in large quanti-
formed in the metal is determined not by the radius of ties.
the upper tool, but by the lower die width. Typically, the
inner radius is equal to 1/6 of the V-width used in the
forming process.
3.16 Rolling
The press usually has some sort of back gauge to position
depth of the bend along the workpiece. The backgauge
can be computer controlled to allow the operator to make
a series of bends in a component to a high degree of ac-
curacy. Simple machines control only the backstop, more
advanced machines control the position and angle of the
stop, its height and the position of the two reference pegs
used to locate the material. The machine can also record
the exact position and pressure required for each bending
operation to allow the operator to achieve a perfect 90
degree bend across a variety of operations on the part.
The picture shown is air bending. Press brake bending is
a dierent machine. But similar.

3.14 Punching

Main article: Punching Bending sheet metal with rollers

Punching is performed by placing the sheet of metal stock Main article: Rolling
between a punch and a die mounted in a press. The punch
and die are made of hardened steel and are the same [16]
 5

3.17 Spinning 5 See also

Main article: Metal spinning Circle grid analysis

Corrugated galvanised iron, also known as Corru-

Spinning is used to make tubular (axis-symmetric) parts gated Sheet Metal
by xing a piece of sheet stock to a rotating form
(mandrel). Rollers or rigid tools press the stock against Diamond plate
the form, stretching it until the stock takes the shape of
the form. Spinning is used to make rocket motor casings, Forming limit diagram
missile nose cones, satellite dishes and metal kitchen fun-
Strip steel
nels.
Temper mill

3.18 Stamping
Main article: Stamping
Stamping includes a variety of operations such as punch-
ing, blanking, embossing, bending, anging, and coining;
simple or complex shapes can be formed at high produc-
tion rates; tooling and equipment costs can be high, but
labor costs are low.
Alternatively, the related techniques repouss and chas-
ing have low tooling and equipment costs, but high labor
costs..
6 References
[1] Lodhi, Veerendra Singh; Jain, Prof. A.K. (30 April
2014). A Review of Experimental Study of Spring Back
Eect of Aluminum Sheet Metal. International Jour-
nal of Engineering Research and Science & Technology
(IJERST). College Jabalpur (M P), India: Academia.edu.
3 (4): 2. ISSN 2277-9655. doi:10.7763/IJET. Retrieved
14 July 2015.
[2] Green, Archie (1993). Wobblies, pile butts, and other
heroes : laborlore explorations. Urbana u.a.: Univ. of
Illinois Press. p. 20. ISBN 9780252019630. Retrieved
14 July 2015.

[3] Sheet metal material. precisionsheetmetal.com.

3.19 Water jet cutting
[4] Sustainability of Aluminium in Buildings (PDF). Euro-
Main article: Water jet cutting pean Aluminium Association. Retrieved 20 June 2013.

[5] Central Steel & Wire Company Catalog (20062008

A water jet cutter, also known as a waterjet, is a tool capa-
ble of a controlled erosion into metal or other materials
using a jet of water at high velocity and pressure, or a
mixture of water and an abrasive substance.
3.20 Wheeling
Main article: Wheeling
[17]
ed.): 151.
[6] All Metal Construction Made Easy
[7] ASTM A480/A480M-13b Standard Specication for
General Requirements for Flat-Rolled Stainless and Heat-
Resisting Steel Plate, Sheet, and Strip. ASTM Interna-
tional.
[8] Oberg, p. 2522.
[9] Rowlett, Ross (26 July 2002). Sheet Metal Thickness
Gauges. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Retrieved 21 June 2013.

[10] Oberg, p. 387.

[11] 15 U.S.C. 206: Standard gauge for sheet and plate iron
4 Fasteners and steel

Fasteners that are commonly used on sheet metal include: [12] Oberg, p. 2502.
[13] ASTM-AISI Thickness Tolerance Ranges (PDF). Coy-
oteSteel.com. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
Clecos [18]

[14] Parker, pp. 20, 85

Rivets[19]
[15] Parker, pp. 29, 83

Sheet metal screws [16] Parker, p. 115

6 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

[17] Parker, p. 89

[18] Parker, p. 70

[19] Parker, pp. 17, 22, 2930, 117

6.1 Bibliography
Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D. (2004).
Machinerys Handbook (27th ed.). New York:
Industrial Press. ISBN 0-8311-2700-7.
Parker (2013). Building Victory: Aircraft Manufac-
turing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II. Cy-
press, CA. ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.

7 External links
Manufacturers Standard Gauge History. Steel
Market Update.

Sheet Steel Gauges and Thicknesses (PDF). Sheet

Steel Facts. Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute.
April 2009.
 7

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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